In Christ, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:22 (ESV)

 

The Trinity defines the framework for the church's mission and ministry.

Thanks to God's perfect work of reconciliation that we have been called and chosen to participate in Christ’s ministry through the power of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of the world. This missional call demonstrates God's loving and relational nature. He reveals His divine life of eternal love by creating the world and bringing it to salvation through His love manifested in grace, enabling us to have a close and intimate relationship with Him.

Ephesians 1 captures beautifully how each member of the Trinity plays a unique role and works in salvation. God the Father predestines everyone for salvation; the Son provides us with our salvation through His redeeming work on the cross; and the Holy Spirit keeps our salvation by dwelling within us as a guarantee that God will complete His salvific work in us. By graciously sharing His life and love with us in our union with Christ through the Spirit, we are collectively and corporately being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.

The church as God's dwelling place is more than a physical structure, a particular denomination, or a hierarchical religious organisation. Rather, it is the whole people of God participating in the whole work of God. The whole work of God is to believe in Jesus, whom God has sent (John 6:29), and we have the privilege of participating in what God is doing.

Both mission and ministry are God’s means of revealing His nature and character of perfect love. This is why walking in love with God and one another is the best way for the rest of the world to see Jesus. Because we already embody God's love in its entirety and fullness, we can demonstrate that love to others in many ways.